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"Birds of a Feather" is the 38th episode of the first season of Wild Kratts, originally airing on PBS Kids on September 7, 2012.[1] The episode was written by Eva Almos and directed by Chris Kratt. On July 10, 2012, "Birds of a Feather" was first released on DVD as part of Wild Kratts: Jungle Animals.[2]

In this episode, the Kratt brothers skydive down to New Guinea to witness the mating dances of the birds-of-paradise. The crew then shows off their dances, all except for Aviva, who says that dancing is not her thing. But the Kratt brothers are confident that she can, and they think that the birds of paradise are the best inspiration for her. When they come up to the Lawes's parotia, Aviva finally decides to give dancing a try, but she and a few parotias get captured by fashion designer Donita Donata's henchman, Dabio, for Donita so she can make a gown made of the feathers of the birds-of-paradise

Contents

Plot

Opening Live Action Segment

The opening live action segment of the episode begins in the salt pans of the Caribbean, where the Kratt brothers are looking to get a close look at flamingos, whose pink feathers play a role in attracting females and courtship displays. Afterwards, they ask their "What if?" question and the show transitions into the cartoon segment.

The Kratt brothers descend from the Tortuga into the rainforests of New Guinea and get tangled in the canopy, where Martin finds a Count Raggi, one of several species of birds of paradise. The Kratt brothers explain to the rest of the crew that birds of paradise perform courtship dances. Afterwards, the Wild Kratts perform their own dance moves, all except for Aviva, who thinks she does not know how to dance. The Kratt brothers try to convince her to at least try, but Aviva refuses. Thinking that birds of paradise might be the key to get Aviva to start dancing, the Kratt brothers head off to find some inspiration. Meanwhile, Donita Donata orders her henchman, Dabio, to find some birds of paradise so she can use their feathers to make a gown.

The Kratt brothers are encountering a superb bird of paradise singing.

The Kratt brothers encounter a superb bird of paradise singing. A female arrives, and the superb bird of paradise puffs its feathers and hops around the female. Martin names it Smiley because of what appears to be a smile on his feathers. However, Smiley's dance moves neither impress the female nor inspire Aviva to try dancing. The Kratt brothers move on and find a Lawes's parotia preparing a lek, which Martin names Hip-Hop. Then female parotias arrive. Aviva, who finished two Birds of Paradise Discs, arrives and tosses the Kratt brothers their Creature Power Suits with the discs already inserted into them. Then, all the parotias tuft out their feathers, squawking and dancing. Chris hands Aviva his suit so she can dance like the parotias. At first, she refuses to dance, but Aviva decides to try while the Kratt brothers are not looking. She activates Chris's Suit and tries dancing, but she and a few other parotias are bagged by Dabio. The Kratt brothers, realizing that Aviva and the parotias are missing, call Koki, who finds out that she is in Donita's jet. Inside the jet, Dabio tries to lock Aviva and the parotias into an over-sized birdcage, but the lock refuses to close. Aviva opens the cage, and the birds make a mess of Donita's plane. Martin then arrives in his female Lawes's Parotia Creature Power Suit to distract Donita and Dabio. Chris tries to free Aviva and the parotias, but Donita notices and places both Kratt brothers in suspended animation. To save everyone, Aviva tufts her feathers and starts dancing. As she comfortably gets the hang of moving back and forth, the parotias dance along with her to impress Martin. Dabio dances as well, but due to his massive strength and weight, the jet shakes. Stuff gets further tossed around, causing the suspended animation beams to end up destroyed, releasing both the brothers, who release the parotias after Donita admitted defeat. At the Tortuga, Aviva comfortably dances along with the Kratt brothers, this time without a Suit.

Closing Live Action Segment

As the Kratt brothers continue walking in the salt pans, Chris states that courtship displays and dances are important to birds-of-paradise, flamingos, and lots of creatures; while Martin adds that many creatures have dances and other ways to show off how healthy they are. A male peacock is shown and Martin describes that the peacock is definitely eye-catching with the long colorful feathers that are held up in a massive fan, and the male shakes his feathers in front of the female to get her attention. They trying to dance like male flamingos. Afterwards, they explain how flamingos eat tiny animals in the water, some of which play a role in the flamingos' pink color. The Kratt brothers then state that the flamingos will perform their courtship dance throughout the winter until they break off into mated pairs, lay their eggs in mud nests, and have chicks. They finally conclude the episode by saying "Keep on creature adventuring; we'll see you on the creature trail!"